The Final Report from the Scientific Inquiry into Hydraulic Fracturing in the Northern Territory was released on the 27th March.
The Arid Lands Environment Centre welcomes the comprehensive detail in the Final Report, that contains 135 recommendations the panel believes could mitigate the risk of the process of fracking to an acceptable level.
However ALEC disagrees that the myriad of risks exposed by the Inquiry from the process of fracking could ever be mitigated to an acceptable level, and that some of the recommendations of the report could never be implemented. This includes the suggestion that a 5% increase in overall Australian carbon emissions could be offset, and that there could be no net increase in emissions from any onshore shale gas produced in the NT. A 5% increase in Australian emissions will compromise our ability to meet the Paris Climate Accord targets, of which Australia is a signatory.
The Expert panel has stated “that the recommendations in this Report are a complete package. That is, they must be implemented in their entirety in order to mitigate the risks associated with any onshore shale gas industry in the NT to an acceptable level. Further, if the Government lifts the moratorium, the recommendations must be implemented in a clear, timely and transparent manner.”
Please find the Final Report here: https://frackinginquiry.nt.gov.au/inquiry-reports/final-report
If you haven't got time to read the report, here's a quick summary of the key points.
A decision by the NT government on the issue of fracking in the Northern Territory is imminent, and ALEC urges all concerned community members to contact NT Ministers to express their concerns.